Wine prescriptions

Don't get mad, just drink wine.  That's the advice I've been giving myself lately.  As a result, I found that there is a light at the end of this tunnel and that is discovering in the midst of all things crazy, wine and words are soothing prescriptions.


I opened two wines this past week that I had been keeping for a year's time.  Both whites as white wines do not usually last in my home.  The first one was Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis 2007.  It was still drinking beautifully, but I'm not surprised.  Most individuals don't understand the capability Italian whites have, specifically those from the north, to age gracefully.  Bartlett pear flesh, almond skin and a touch of herbs.  Lemon skin and minerality arising on the finish.  So food friendly, juicy palate and an upfront racy character.  I was so sad when the bottle finished, but I will hold on to its tasting memories delicately, remembering that Alfredo Currado so dutifully deserves the title "Father of Arneis" and thanking him daily for resurrecting the variety.


The second wine was from the Kremstal subregion, located east to the more commonly known Wachau subregion, both located in the Niederosterreich region, also known as Lower Austria.  I have had many different styles from the Wachau, both Gruner Veltliner and Riesling varietals combined, but I have not had many Rieslings from the Kremstal DAC and its microclimate personality was truly unique.  The 2009 vintage is lean, more restrained, muted fruits that mingled between lemon rind, underripe apricot flesh, and yellow apple skin. Tart nuances, yet soft acidity balanced with the stony and mineral tones that I would expect from Austrian Rieslings.  Weingut Stift Gottweig is the producer, Gottweiger Berg refers to its vineyard site noting its proximity to woodsy land.  A dry wine that could have been aged a bit, but sometimes the occasion is much more needed than the desire to wait for vintage consumption.


I am contemplating the wine of choice for the weekend's end, my day off.  Maybe if the weather stays as is, I'll finally dust off the red wines and consider one of their own for a change.  Then again, maybe not.